I know its all guessing games at the moment as to who will leave and remain, but if you look at Rafas history he doesnt half love a good summer overhaul most seasons.

up to a dozen will leave in my opinion and possibly the same amount coming in. Rafa will be clever to start with maybe getting a few older heads for free or relatively small fees before going in for his bigger priced targets.

Is it just me who thinks Gayle is worth keeping? In addition with 2 strikers being brought in, gayle could offer good competition and be a good third choice option. He may not be the regular goalscorer that we need but we know what he can offer and being 3rd choice competing with another striker would mean that he doesn’t need to be the clinical main goal scorer.

If you want to judge slimani on 4 games then you’re asking for trouble I believe. He’s completely lacking in sharpeness and if he scored say 3-4 goals between now and end of the season, I would still possibly decline the opportunity to sign him permanently.

Obviously if Rafa decides he is the player we need then go for it but I don’t think he believes he is.

If we can’t get kenedy on permanent then if it wouldn’t be possible to loan him again then that would work out very well for us in terms of more funds for strikers and #10. In addition we need more left back cover, another right back and defensive mid to compete with diame. Other positions can be strengthened and reinforced but not really priorities atm.

Optimistic I like Perez but I’ve said a lot this season and last season as it happens, Perez is not a #10. He is a striker. He is being moulded into the position it seems by Rafa so I thinking he is here to stay. I reckon if we bring in a #10, Perez is good for competition and improving and learning from someone natural to that position.

Personally I wouldn’t keep either Perez or Gayle as neither are of the standard required. Perez, whilst in good form, is not the creative outlet we need at No 10 – the man can’t pass a ball 10 yards as demonstrated last night and is an average finisher at best.

Gayle, whilst must be commended for his goals last season, will never be a PL striker and should be allowed to return to his level.

I fully expect Rafa, if given the funds to do so, to get rid of both players thogoh I have a sneaky suspicion that Perez will be here again next season

Repost from last night as i’m still a bit p!ssed off with that bl00dy ref.

I was certain that we’d get a goal in the second half, we were outplaying them and but for the fact they had all of the refs decisions in their favour we shoulda got something from the game.

I did ask the question before the game if he was another one who hated us and so it proved to be.

Definite pen and a definite red card were the two obvious bad decisions but the “foul” on Baines was the start for me, he basically just fell over and the ref fell for it. Contrast that with the way Perez was roughed up all of the game with very little protection said it all as far as I was concerned.

I reckon Shelvey may have been trying to hard to impress with the rumours of an England call up and tried too many of his long passes. I still thought he had a decent game for all that.

On last night’s match: just a bad day all around. First half we could barely string 2 passes together. Everything was disjointed and chaotic, players seemed out of synch mentally with each other. Missed chances. Bad officiating. Pitch too slippery. Etc…

Felt bad for Slimani making his first start with the team so out of rhythm and with his lack of match sharpness: very difficult. But crazy to give up on him after one poor start!

Ruddy But by getting rid of Perez doesn’t that mean you’ll be expecting to bring in two no10s as opposed to just one and have Perez compete? This in addition with the striking reinforcements that we need.

I don’t think it’s either Perez or gayle. Both are playing different positions with Perez ever hardly playing upfront as striker this season barring a couple games. I think both are worth keeping for competition and both already know the system that Rafa wants and the expectations. No point getting rid to replace and still lack the depth that Rafa mentions as wanting.

hibbit, Agreed that he should not be bought at that price! And his age is getting up there as well, so think there may be other options out there. I just don’t thing people should write him off based on that match last night.

Not a great match. We couldn’t make a good pass a the crucial time. Perez was very disappointing. Shelvey had an off game as well. I thought people were getting over-confident. We’re a true work in progress. Narrow margins to say the least.

I think last night turned out to be exactly what it was: two teams with nothing to play for at the end of a long hard slog, unintentionally taking their foot off the pedal and relaxing just a little too much. Not a game that will be remembered by either set of fans. Also a bit of a wake up call after a great run of results – losing twice to that rabble tells us we’ve got a long way to go yet. Still, not going to dwell on it. It was pretty much pants. Bring on West Brom at home and get back to winning ways. 🙂

Perez will never be a consistent goal scorer in this division. Gayle brings a bit more to the table but we would be better off selling both, along with Mitro to get the cash for one big buy at striker. Then put anything El Cheapo hands over into another striker and an AMF. To make any decent progress next season we must score more goals. Another Rafa clearout should happen this summer. Many of the loanees might be gone as well. Aarons hasn’t played well on loan apparently and Armstrong should get one last chance with us. Probably not good enough though.

We need quality now. Not bargain basement skivvies and tank tops from the returns bin. No more Hoser Loo level buys. No more “ooh I’d love to help you out Rafa but me wallets in me other jacket at the cleaners.” We’re waiting ….

The idea that we have a championship squad gets thrown about a lot. It means different things to different people.

The want and need for developing young talent is always true.

We have a very young starting 11. We have witnessed first hand the improvement each player has made under the guidance of Rafa already and not least the difference a consistent starting 11 can make.

What if… what if, I almost can’t believe I’m going to suggest this but I do enjoy the idea… what if we keep the exact same starting 11 for next season (signing the loanees) My belief is that we would see continued improvements and progression in individuals and as a team as we have the latter games of this season.

Let’s develop and have faith in what we have?? It’s a bigger ask for some players than others but why not?

There’s plenty of holes in my romantic view, clearly. But would it be that crazy to try?

I’m much more concerned about our potential outgoings this summer than incomings.

Personally I don’t care how much is spent. As long as Rafa gets the players he wants and the positions he wants filled are actually filled. Good scouting will mean you can find good players, the cost of them doesn’t make it so. Dubravka looks to be a decent keeper yet is only a few million.

On a totally different note, there was an interview with the political commentator / ?editor of the Daily Mirror today Kevin whatsisname who’s clearly from the North-East. Always liked him. Turns out he’s a Sunderland supporter. He said that recently he’s been staying till the end of the games at S.O.S to beat the rush! Love it!

Buy T-shirts and Hoodies

health update

My latest bone scans and CAT scans were completed this week and I met with my oncologist Dr. Dhruva to go over the results.

The stage four cancer remains stabilized and hasn't spread over the last six months.

I was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in early 2017 after being in remission for six years.

There is no cure for stage 4 cancer - but there are treatments which attempt to prolong life.

I am upbeat with the results and remain in awe of the doctors and nurses at the Rex Cancer Center here in Raleigh, North Carolina

It's truly humbling to see how inspiring they are with their patients.

Ed Harrison

Comments

The purpose of the comments is to allow Newcastle United fans and others to express their views on the news of the day concerning the Newcastle United Football Club.

We'd ask that you be civil towards other readers and refrain from obscene language and any comments on religion, ethnic groups or politics.

Let's make this work - and let's help the Newcastle United Football Club become great again.

Ed Harrison

Kacper Tylenda Website Designer

One of our avid readers Kacper Tylenda from Poland was the person who came in during April, 2017 and redesigned this web-site from top to bottom.

We think he did a fantastic job to modernize the site with the roll-out on Thursday May 18th surprisingly smooth.

I am so appreciative of his help.

Kacper is starting his own business in web-design so if you want a website built or know of people who want to redo their sites in any way – here’s his portfolio.

football club

It’s the noise, the passion, the feeling of belonging, the pride in your city. It’s a small boy clambering up stadium steps for the very first time, gripping his father’s hand, gawping at that hallowed stretch of turf beneath him and, without being able to do a thing about it, falling in love.